


See You Again

by ATOASTBW



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Reunions, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 05:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18732637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATOASTBW/pseuds/ATOASTBW
Summary: Several years after his final battle, Steve finally reunites with some of the most important people in his life.





	See You Again

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER WARNING!!!
> 
> So... it's been more than a week since Endgame pretty much turned me into a sobbing wreck, but the tears were tears of laughter, sadness, and pure joy. I loved every second of the film.
> 
> This piece isn't a fix-it, because, although I'm still devastated by the deaths, I felt quite at peace and content with the way the movie ended. Still, however you may feel about the ending, given that it was the ending that we got, this fic is basically what I imagine happens from that point on. 
> 
> To note: the Russos said that Steve went to an alternate timeline's Peggy, lived his life, then went back to his original timeline, which is what I chose to follow. Also, in my mind, in the alternate timeline, that Peggy has also passed away by the time Steve returns to his original reality. That's all you really need to know. 
> 
> And yes, I ship Steve and Tony with all my heart but I still do love Peggy, so this was the only way I found possible to fit Stony into the canon without actually diverging too much. 
> 
> P.S. the latest trailer for Spider-man: Far from Home literally just came out as I was finishing this up and I'm in tears all over again.
> 
> Un-beta'd so all mistakes are my own!

When Steve opens his eyes, he expects to see white, or maybe even a blue sky.

Instead, he sees the ceiling of an army barrack, one that is all too familiar.

Confused, he pushes himself up, only to realise that his back no longer aches, the joints in his hands no longer sore. He looks down at them, only to see that they are free of wrinkles and blemishes, now looking like the hands of someone in their late twenties or early thirties.

He reaches for his face, feeling no loose skin and barely any wrinkles. _I’m young again._

He turns around, seeing rows of empty beds. At the very end is a lone figure, sitting on one of the beds.

Walking over, he sits down on the bed opposite the figure. He looks at the two cups and bottle of alcohol, and he smiles.

“Hello Steven.”

“Hi Doc,” Steve says, looking into the eyes of one Dr Erskine. “It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has.” The doctor pours the drink into the cups. “And you’ve done a lot in that short while, haven’t you?”

Steve laughs as he takes a cup, recalling how he was a short, sickly fellow when the two of them last talked like this. “That’s a bit of an understatement.”

“It may be, but still, I am so proud of you,” Dr Erskine says, and Steve remembers what he had said to him that night before the experiment. _Not a perfect soldier, but a good man._

“Thanks. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to do all those things.” Steve knows that’s the truth, that his transformation into Captain America was thanks to the doctor.

“I made you bigger and stronger, sure. But the rest, that’s all you.” Dr Erskine points to him. “And if what the others told me is true, only someone like you would have done all those things.”

“The others?” Steve asks, looking around.

“Of course there’re others,” Dr Erskine says. “Did you think I’m the only one here?”

“Well, I don’t know how this place works, I only just got here.” Steve takes a sip of his drink, still as confused as ever.

“You’ll see them soon. I’m only here because they thought I would be most suitable to welcome you.” The doctor then gestures around the barrack. “If you’re wondering, no, this isn’t what the afterlife looks like. This is just to reduce the shock and help you get acclimatised.”

Steve can barely believe it, but after everything he’s seen and experienced in his life, nothing really seems impossible anymore.

They talk, but it isn’t long before the bottle is empty. Dr Erskine gets up, and Steve follows.

“I shouldn’t hold you up any longer. The others are waiting.” The doctor points to the door closest to them. “Just go through there.”

Steve hesitates, to which the doctor rests a hand on his shoulder, comforting him. “Don’t worry, you’ll see me around.”

Before he leaves, he turns around and says, “Oh, and tell Miss Romanoff I said hello.”

_Miss Romanoff?_ Steve immediately opens the door, only to step into the common area of the Avengers Headquarters. On one of the sofas, he sees a woman with a head of bright red hair, her feet resting on the coffee table.

“Nat?”

She turns around, grinning when she sees Steve. “Took you long enough.”

Steve dashes over to her and pulls her into a hug, one that she instantly returns. He never thought he would see her again. He didn’t get to say goodbye, he didn’t even get to see her body, so to have her here, physically here and hugging him back, Steve can barely control his emotions.

When they pull apart, Natasha is smirking. “Are you crying?”

“Yeah.” Steve doesn’t even attempt to hide it. Why would he, when he’s so happy to see Nat again, after what she did. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” Natasha looks at him with a sad smile on her face.

“For everything,” Steve says. “If I had known that the stone required you to… I wouldn’t have sent you there. I would have…”

“What, you would have sacrificed yourself instead? We wouldn’t have let you. _I_ wouldn’t have let you. The team needed you, you know that. And I did what I had to do to bring my family back.” Natasha smiles at him. “We won. It was all worth it. So, you have nothing to be sorry about.”

Steve knows that he will never stop blaming himself, but he nods anyway. He takes a seat next to Natasha, and the two of them talk and catch up, just like old times.

“How’s Bruce?” By the look in her eyes, Steve knows that she still has a soft spot for him.

“He’s good. In charge of the tech department now, along with Scott. Those two work surprisingly well together.”

“Did he try to…” Natasha gestures vaguely to herself. _Did he try to find a way to bring me back?_

Steve nods. “He did, for a year or so. It took him a while to come to terms with it, but he has.”

She smiles in return. “And Clint? How is he?”

“He’s good too. Been training all his kids in archery. Won’t be long before we have a whole gang of little Hawkeyes in the world.”

Natasha nods, but it’s obvious that her attention is somewhere else.

Softly, Steve asks, “Do you miss them?”

The answer is clear from her pained smile alone. “Of course, I do. They’re my family; I’ll always miss them. But as long as they’re safe and happy, then I’m content.”

She turns to Steve, hand coming up to rest on his knee. “And like you, I know I’ll get to see them again one day. I’ll just have to wait a while.”

Her eyes are watering, but Steve knows that she will not cry. He reaches up to hold her hand, knowing that she really is one of the strongest among them.

Suddenly, she looks up. “I think it’s time for someone else to welcome you.”

Steve turns around to see Peggy, as young as beautiful as the day he first met her. She sits herself down next to him. “Thank you, Natasha.”

Nat smiles, getting up to leave. She tells him, “I’ll find you afterwards, okay?” and disappears.

Immediately, Steve is no longer in the common room, finding himself transported to the bar from all those years ago, where he first saw Peggy in that stunning red dress.

“You know, I thought it’d be a few more years before you joined me here,” Peggy says, a small smile on her face.

Steve looks at her, feeling beyond relieved that she’s here too, but looking at the place they’re in, a wave of anxiety washes through him. If he’s back in his original timeline, wouldn’t this Peggy be from the original one too? Would it be possible that this Peggy knows what happened in an alternate timeline? Or will he have to act like nothing ever happened?

“Stop frowning, darling. You look horrible when you do.” Peggy’s voice breaks him out of his thoughts. “You’re thinking so hard that I can hear your thoughts. And yes, I’m aware of everything that’s happened in both realities.”

Steve sighs in relief. He’s not sure how any of this works, but he’s happy that he’s able to be with the Peggy he grew old with, as well as the one that truly knows his experiences.

From some corner of the room, music starts playing, and Steve looks over at Peggy, wondering if he should ask her for a dance.

Again, Peggy understands him much more than he does. “We’ll have plenty of time for dances, but for now, I think there’s someone else that you want to see, isn’t there?”

She’s right. There has been a name that keeps tickling the back of Steve’s mind, a person that Steve’s been constantly thinking about since he got here, even when he was overwhelmed by this new environment. But with Peggy here, it seems wrong to admit it.

Steve stammers, trying to deflect, but Peggy just continues. “You don’t have to pretend, Steve. Don’t forget, I was married to you in one lifetime, so I’ll know if you’re lying.”

He smiles at how well she knows him. “Peggy, I-“

She interrupts him. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I know that he means a lot to you.” She holds his hand in hers. “We had a great lifetime together, but every time you talked about him, I could see that you held so much regret. Now is the time to finally fix that.”

She points to a door at the end of the bar. “He’s just through there.”

Steve desperately wants to go, but he knows that he can’t leave without saying anything, not after everything he’s been through with her. “I love you.”

“I know. And I will always love you,” she replies, hand reaching up to cup the side of Steve’s face. “But you can love two people at the same time. The same goes for him too.”

Standing there, Steve can only smile at how well Peggy truly knows him, at how lucky he is to have her in his life.

“We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.” She presses a soft kiss to his cheek. “Now go. He’s waiting for you.”

With a gentle push, she directs him towards the door. After one last look back, he walks through the door.

Instantly, he finds himself in the Avengers tower. Walking around, he notices someone outside, sitting at the edge of the quinjet landing pad, silhouette illuminated by the setting sun.

Steve walks out, and with every step, he feels his heart beat speed up, feels his own breath beginning to catch in his throat. He gets closer and closer, until he is right behind the person, and he calls out.

“Tony?”

The figure looks up, and with the biggest smile, he says, “Hi Cap.”

Steve lets out a shaky laugh, barely believing his own two eyes. Even as he sits down, he keeps staring, hoping that this isn’t a hallucination.

There is Tony, right in front of him, looking healthy and energetic. His hair is a lot darker from the last time he saw him, less white and grey. The wrinkles from the years of torment and stress are mostly gone, big brown eyes still shining bright with life, appearing the same way he did when Steve first met him all those years ago in Germany.

But that’s not why Steve can barely breathe. It’s because this is the Tony he truly knows. Not the one he saw in the alternate timeline when he was returning the stones. Not the one who he took care of and watched grow up in the timeline where he grew old with Peggy. This Tony is the one from his own reality, the one he spent years arguing with and fighting alongside with. This is the Tony he had so deeply hurt, the one that he somehow managed to patch things up with even after everything. This is the Tony that sacrificed his life, the one that he watched die.

This is _his_ Tony.

Steve is still so awed by his presence that he can only repeat his name. “Tony.”

“You look good, Cap,” Tony says, a smile on his face that Steve has so sorely missed. “How you’ve been?”

“Good. Great.” Steve’s mind can only churn out the most basic of vocabulary, mostly because he’s too focused on staring at Tony. “How about you? Are you… at peace?”

“You could say that.” Tony turns back to the sunset. “It is beautiful here. I feel calm, relaxed, well-rested. It’s starting to get a little boring, but I think things are gonna get better now that you’re here.”

Steve’s heart skips a beat at that, a little seed of hope starting to grow. Any animosity they had seems to be gone in this new place, and he begins to see the chance to fix things that Peggy mentioned.

Steve wants to say something, anything, but he’s too caught up. In his moment of hesitation, Tony speaks up. “How is everyone?”

Just like that, Steve finds his words. Without stopping, he lets Tony know all the things that have happened in the years since he left. He tells him about the team, about the rebuilding of the headquarters, then moves on to the most important people in Tony’s life.

He talks about Pepper, about how she’s started a charity in Tony’s name, aimed at helping those affected by the snap, specialising in counselling for those suffering from trauma. She still feels his death very deeply, but channels that grief into helping others, running the charity like the strong woman she is, all the while being a great mother to Morgan.

He talks about Happy, who has been there for Pepper and Morgan since the very beginning. He has been spoiling Morgan rotten, which Pepper always scolds him for, but can’t find it in her heart to stop him.

He talks about Rhodey, who has been a guardian for his family, protecting Morgan in anyway he can. He teaches her about the Iron Man armour, about War Machine, but mainly the different armours that her father had worn over the years.

He talks about Peter, who has really matured a lot. He’s gotten into the university of his choice, and according to him, it was really because he wrote his application essay on his internship at Stark Industries, about how Tony was the best mentor he could have ever had. Even though he’s a lot busier, he still spends his free time with Morgan, who’s become a little sister to him.

And of course, he talks about Morgan.

“You would be so proud of her, Tony,” Steve says. “She’s smart, funny, kind. Just like you. She’s gonna do amazing things in the future.”

“I know she is.” Tony smiles. “And I’m already proud of her.”

“We tell her about you, you know. Stories, memories, experiences.” Steve recalls his own time spent with Morgan, how she was so focused on listening to his every word about Tony. “All of us, whoever’s left, we tell her about you every day. Just to make sure she’ll always remember you.”

“Well, I’m grateful,” Tony says, turning to Steve. “Couldn’t have asked for a better group of weirdos to take care of her. Honestly, I feel safe knowing she has them looking out for her.”

Steve notices the look on Tony’s face, and wants nothing more than to have the ability to send Tony back, to revive him just so that he can spend his life with his family, the one that he so completely deserved, one that he got after so long only for it to be snatched away.

He’s too lost in his thoughts that he almost misses what Tony says to him. “Oh, I’ve talked to Aunt Peggy by the way. Seems like you took my advice and had a good long life.”

_Aunt Peggy_. Steve almost forgot that in his original timeline, Peggy was a huge presence in Tony’s childhood. Still, he’s glad that they finally got to meet again. “Yeah, I did.”

“How was it?”

“It was… perfect,” Steve says, and in that moment, it finally dawns on him that he never had the chance to thank Tony. “But I only managed to live that life because of you.”

Steve resists the urge to reach for Tony’s hand. “Thank you, Tony. For everything. You saved the world. You saved the team.”

Steve stares straight at Tony. “You saved _me_. And no words will ever come close to describing how much I owe you for that.”

Tony’s eyes are wide open, surprised at Steve’s sudden outburst of words and emotion. Still, a smile soon appears on his face. “Aww, you’re making me blush. And really, you don’t have to thank me that much, I just did what I had to do. I’m sure you would have done the same- Whoa!”

Tony’s words are cut short, but only because Steve can’t control himself anymore. He pulls Tony into a hug, and nearly cries at how warm Tony is, solid and strong and _real_ in his arms.

He can feel Tony’s shock, his body stiff and awkward, but within seconds, Tony relaxes, hugging him back just as fiercely. The feeling is overwhelming, and Steve doesn’t want it to end.

Tony pats his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Don’t cry on me now, Cap. This was supposed to be a happy reunion.”

Laughing, Steve pulls away, sniffling as he holds back the tears, noticing that Tony’s eyes are glossed over with tears as well.

“I’ve missed you.” The words are out of Steve’s mouth before he even realises it.

There is a pause, before Tony says, “I’ve missed you too, Steve.”

He can’t help but notice the way Tony says his name, the way Tony looks at him, the smile directed at him. All those were things he thought he lost after the whole fallout with the Accords, things he thought he would never experience again.

There has always been something between the two of them, something that’s been there from the very beginning, when Tony had just flown a bomb into space and fell to the ground, when Steve ripped the Iron Man mask off in fear, only to smile in relief when he heard Tony’s voice. There has always been something, but with everything that had been going on in their lives, they never had the time to act on it. More than that, Steve supposes, both of them were too scared, with neither ever having the courage to go forward. Mix that with all the disagreements and the disaster that was the Accords, Steve had virtually given up on anything every happening. And when Tony died, Steve felt nothing but loss and regret at the things that could have been, at the life that he could have had if he actually did something.

But now, in this new, unknown place and time, Steve believes he has a chance to start over, that both him and Tony have a chance to start their relationship anew.

A silver of doubt and worry enters his mind. He thinks about Peggy, about how they had literally spent a lifetime together as husband and wife. He thinks about Pepper, about how Tony’s waiting for her too. He starts to feel guilty about having such thoughts, about feeling such things.

Then, he remembers what Peggy told him _. It’s possible to love two people at the same time._

Steve knows that he loves Peggy. He always has, always will, but what he feels for Tony is so intense that he can’t put it to words yet he knows what he feels is real, feelings that have been growing with every word and smile that Tony has directed at him ever since they first met.

As for Tony? Steve doesn’t feel right asking, but he’s sure that Peggy and Tony have talked about him, sure that Peggy more than understands Tony, sure that she wouldn’t tell him all those things knowing that he was bound to fail. Not only that, but during Tony’s funeral, Pepper had personally asked him to join her, to listen to Tony’s final recording. He declined at first, knowing that he would feel out of place, but Pepper insisted. When he asked her why, all she said was, “He would want you to be there.”

So, Steve hopes. He sees the look in Tony’s eyes, knows that he’s felt and thought about the same things, so he hopes.

Again, Steve is broken out of his thoughts when Tony suddenly speaks. “I’m starving!” He gets up, and looking down at Steve, he says, “Do you want to fondue?”

Steve chokes on air, coughing as he tries to process what Tony just said, especially after what he’d just been thinking about. “What are you – I – What?”

Tony tries to stifle his laughter, and Steve has his moment of realisation. “Wait… did Peggy tell you about that?”

“Of course she did! She told me everything! What, did you think it was my father?” Tony is really laughing now, a rich sound that Steve hasn’t heard in a very long time, one that warms him up immediately, from deep inside until it fills his entire being.

“Seriously though, they do have good fondue here. And shawarma too, who knew!” Tony reaches out his hand to Steve. “Come on, I’ll show you!”

With no hesitation, Steve grabs Tony hand. Following behind, he listens to Tony as he talks about all the food and activities they have in this place, about how Tony is going to bring him around to try everything.

All the while, Steve nods and smiles, savouring the warmth and contact from where Tony is so firmly holding onto his hand.

So, maybe now’s not the time to talk about it, but Steve knows that they’ll get to it eventually. He’s still not sure how any of this place works, but all that he does know, and all that he really cares about, is that he’s not alone.

He has Nat, he has Peggy, he has Tony. And in this new place, wherever it is and whatever it is called, he’s comforted by the fact that he’ll never have to lose any of them ever again.

As for the rest of his team, his family? It might be a while, but he knows he’ll see them again. He’ll just have to wait a while. Until then, he finally has a chance to make things right with Tony, a chance that he sure as hell isn’t going to ever let go.

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. I legitimately cried while I was writing this.
> 
> If you wanna cry along with me, or talk to me about anything Stony/MCU related, you can find me on Tumblr @ ATOASTBW


End file.
